Welcome to the February 2026 edition of the APA Approach!
I wanted to start this month’s President’s Report with an update on the Falcon Field landing fee proposal. As you know, the city pushed out the original February 9, 2026, date for the city council vote by 45 – 60 days to “allow sufficient time to process and potentially incorporate public feedback into staff recommendations.” The current city council meeting calendar shows no agenda items related to this fee proposal through the end of February. However, we have received information from other sources that provided the following dates for city council actions for this proposal:
- ·Audit & Finance Committee Review – March 5, 2026
- ·City Council Study Session – March 12, 2026
- ·City Council Meeting (Vote) – March 23, 2026
As I mentioned previously, the public is allowed to attend the Audit & Finance Committee meeting and the City Council Study Sessions, but is not allowed to provide comments. However, the public is allowed to speak at City Council meetings, and we encourage the Falcon Field tenant, business, and GA community at large to attend the March 23 meeting and register to speak and provide your comments on the proposal. AOPA, APA and ASAG have remained engaged with the city on this issue, but we need a strong turnout of the pilot and GA community to show our opposition to this proposal and landing fees in general.
In the interim, if you are a Falcon Field tenant or Mesa resident, email the mayor or your city council member to provide your constructive feedback directly – every comment counts. You can find your district, councilmember and their contact information at https://www.mesaaz.gov/Government/Mayor-City-Council. The Falcon Field pilot community has also started a Change.org petition opposing the landing fee proposal which as of today has over 2,500 signatures. Please consider signing the petition and let them know if you are a tenant or GA user of the airport or its businesses in the comments - Change.Org - Stop Landing Fees at Falcon Field.
In addition to the Falcon Field issue, there are several other important items APA has been working on:
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) - Amendment of Class D Airspace for Chandler (KCHD) and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway (KIWA) Airports
As many of you may already know, the FAA has issued an NPRM to amend the Class D airspace for both KCHD and KIWA. This proposed rulemaking is the result of “biennial airspace reviews intended to support instrument flight rule operations and to ensure compliance with agency orders.”
For KIWA – the Class D radius would increase from 5 miles to 5.4 miles. The proposal includes adding exclusion areas for KCHD and Pegasus Airpark.
For KCHD – the Class D airspace radius would increase from 4 to 4.8 miles. The vertical limit would increase from 3,000 to 3,700 feet. The KIWA exclusion area would be removed as it is no longer required.
Those of you that are based at P19, Pegasus, KFFZ, KCHD and KIWA or fly in the vicinity of these airports know that it is very congested airspace and these proposed changes will introduce significant safety concerns. As an example, there is a significant volume of traffic that utilizes the corridor from KFFZ to KCHD for transition around the Phoenix Class B and to access the south practice areas. The NPRM would decrease the vertical space between the Phoenix Class B and KCHD Class D to just 300 feet, increasing the potential for conflicts and midair collisions. Comments were due February 2nd and you can find APA’s submission here https://azpilots.org/images/documents/2026_letters/chd_iwa_class_d_nprm_2-1-26.pdf.
AZ Legislation HB.2210 - Prohibition on ADS-B–Based Fees
As you probably know, legislation was recently introduced in the US Senate and House to prohibit the use of ADS-B to collect fees from aircraft owners and operators. Unfortunately, these bills known as the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (S.2175 and HR.4146) are making slow progress towards passage.
Aviation Safety Advisory Group (ASAG) member CJ deVries has been working with the AZ Legislature to introduce state legislation to prohibit the use of ADS-B to calculate, generate, or collect fees from aircraft owners or operators while operating in Arizona airspace. He has made great progress and HB.2210 was introduced to the AZ House on 9 January 2026 - https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/57leg/2r/bills/hb2210p.htm. The bill is making progress and was given a “Do Pass” vote in the House Government Committee and assigned to the Rules Committee.
Please sign this electronic petition to show your support of this legislation: "We, the undersigned, respectfully express our support for legislation prohibiting the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) system data to calculate, generate, or collect fees from aircraft owners or operators while operating in Arizona airspace." Enter your name, city and digitally sign using a stylus or your finger.
Here is the link: https://adsb-for-safety.netlify.app/
You can also support this legislation through the AZ Legislature Request to Speak (RTS) program. This allows you to register your support and provide comments as the bills progress through the Legislature. As with the Falcon Field issue, your comments supporting HB.2210 are important. You need to create an account to register and submit comments or request to speak in person at a committee meeting - https://apps.azleg.gov/Account/SignOn
A few schedule reminders to wrap up for this month:
- ·AOPA Fly-In/Buckeye Air Fair – February 13 – 15 - APA and The Recreational Aviation Foundation (The RAF) will have a booth in the exhibitor’s tent again this year at the AOPA Fly-In/Buckeye Air Fair. We always have a great time connecting with our members and we’re looking forward to seeing you again!
- ·February Grapevine Camping Weekend – February 20 – 22 - rescheduled based on conflicts with the AOPA Buckeye event.
- ·March Grapevine Daytrip/Camping Weekend – March 20 – 22 – the March event will be a little different since we will combine a Day Trip and Camping Weekend and we are looking forward to a great event. Keep an eye out for updates on our Facebook page and if you have any questions you can reach out to Leanne Tawoda (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Mike McCann (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Thank you for supporting APA’s mission through your membership and please feel free to reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any comments, concerns or questions.
Fly Safe,
Chris