I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. I think the best way I celebrated the beginning of the new year was flying down to Casa Grande on Saturday morning for breakfast with friends. To be safe, I welcomed the entrance of the new year safe at home with a good drink and snacks. At my age I’m not certain I could make it to midnight to welcome the new year here, maybe New York or Chicago time will work out. Have a Happy New Year Everyone!
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
FAA
A while back we received an FAA directive that required a flight instructor and an experimental aircraft owner to obtain a Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA) before the aircraft owner could receive flight instruction or training in their aircraft. The President recently signed legislation that does eliminate the LODA requirement for all experimental aircraft owners who want to hire an instructor to give them training in their aircraft or a borrowed aircraft. However, the legislation does not eliminate the LODA for flight instructors that offer their own aircraft for flight instruction, or other experimental aircraft that are advertised or offered for flight instruction.
AIRSPACE
It looks like the start of the new year should be rather quiet because I have not been made aware of any significant airspace changes or regulation changes being proposed for us in Arizona, and I hope it stays that way for a while.
The Super Bowl will be here on February 12, 2023, and with the Phoenix golf open in progress at the same time, it’s going to be an extremely busy extended weekend from an airspace standpoint. The FAA has advised they will not be able to provide Flight Following during this busy weekend. Also, be aware that there will be TFRs present in the Phoenix area that weekend. The FAA will have a reservation system in place to file instrument flight plans, and all the airports in the Phoenix area are anticipating aircraft parking to be filled to capacity during that weekend. Much activity has been in progress by the airports and the FAA to safely accommodate the influx of aircraft, and the FAA has prepared a website where you will be able to obtain information for the event. The website is: faa.gov/superbowl. With all the anticipated air traffic in the greater Phoenix area, it is being suggested to consider forgoing pleasure flying in the area that weekend from Friday through Monday.
Sedona Airport has complained that there are aircraft that are not communicating with other aircraft on the radio when they land there. For everyone’s safety, use the recommended radio procedures as outlined in the AIM when operating out of ANY uncontrolled airport, not just Sedona. These radio procedures were developed to permit pilots to develop a situational awareness, to know if and where other aircraft may be located, and what their intentions are. Please fly safe!
SAFETY
Apparently, the FAA is not always amused when pilots do dumb things, both intentionally and unintentionally. Some of the intentional ones that come to mind that the FAA took a very dim view of were:
The pilot that put on a parachute and went up in an older airplane that he said had an inflight engine failure and he bailed out and let the airplane crash. An FAA post-crash examination of the engine didn’t reveal a problem with the engine. Saying he flew recklessly (Part 91.13), they revoked his airmen’s certificates.
A Red Bull sponsored attempt at an inflight pilot - aircraft swap. One pilot was successful, and the other was not, and the pilotless aircraft crashed. Both pilots lost their airman certificates. (Part 91.13)
The pilot, while casually flying, who decided to fly under a high bridge that was nearby. The FAA said the pilot turned off the ADS-B and flew under the bridge. Two no-no’s. Again, all airmen certificates permanently revoked. (Part 91.13)
In the first two cases I haven’t heard if the pilots have attempted to get their pilots’ certificates again or not; however, in the third case, the pilot thought they had been dealt with too harshly and had a strong desire to continue flying. The pilot had been flying for many decades, had owned a flight school, flown as a corporate pilot, and had an ATP/CFI certificate with several type ratings. To continue flying, the individual took a private pilot ground school class, a private check ride which they passed, and is happily flying as a private pilot again.
And then there are pilots that do dumb things unintentionally. These are the pilots that commit pilot deviations. I think these deviations are often caused by pilots not paying full attention to what they are doing, not listening to ATC instructions carefully, or perhaps in some cases not knowing what they are supposed to do or not do.
Unfortunately, pilot deviations were up in the last reporting period. Pilots need to keep track of what type of airspace they are flying in or may be about to enter, and they must be prepared to comply with ATC instructions accurately and promptly if they are in controlled airspace. When in controlled airspace, if faced with a potential issue, always promptly advise ATC of the need to take action before doing so. Don’t do something creative on your own without first telling them. Please keep in mind, we all often operate in a very busy and complex block of airspace, and we need to be operating safely.
A summary of the general aviation deviations that were committed this reporting period are as follows:
| One IFR Deviation | One Brasher |
| One Class Bravo Airspace Deviation | One Brasher |
| Eight Class Delta Airspace Deviations | One Brasher |
| Two Air Traffic Control Instruction Deviations | No Brashers |
| Five Runway Incursions | Two Brashers |
| Two Restricted Airspace Deviations | Two Brashers |
For the details on these deviations, see my Pilot Deviations Report elsewhere in this newsletter.
In the past reporting period aviation safety was relatively good because the number of accidents and incidents were down, and the injuries incurred were not severe. I hope this trend will continue through this the new year. For a detailed report of all the accidents and incidents that have occurred, see my Accident & Incident Summary report located elsewhere in this newsletter.
In the past reporting period the FAA issued a report of two Near Mid Air Collision occurrences. A description of these two incidents are located near the Accident Summary and the Pilot Deviation reports in this Newsletter.
Members, please do 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, and type, if anyone got hurt, and with as much detail as possible. Thank You.
CONSTRUCTION
Repair and construction projects underway at many airports around the state; however, we don’t have the latest status on all these projects, so it is always best to check for NOTAMs at your destination airport to determine what may be happening. Always be cautious and always fly well informed.
APA is always 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. Payson Airport, with the consulting firm of Coffman and Associates, will be starting an update of their Airport Master Plan later this month.
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, consider flying down to Ryan Field (RYN) near Tucson for breakfast or lunch at Ritchie’s Restaurant. They are open from 6 am to 2 pm to serve you.
The Falcon Field Warbirds Squadron fly-in breakfast is on the third weekend of the month.
The Grapevine group camp dinner on Saturday evening will be one week early, February 11th, as to not conflict with the Buckeye Air Fair the following weekend, February 17-19. Come and camp for the weekend! The camp host will prepare the main course, and campers, please bring a side dish or dessert to share.
On the last Saturday of the month a fly-in breakfast is continuing to be put on by the Casa Grande Masonic Lodge in the air-conditioned Terminal of the Casa Grande Airport. Apparently, the upgrading of the lunch area has yet to meet inspection requirements. Hopefully it won’t be too long before it can come online.
When you fly to any of these venues, be sure to look for the Fly Arizona Passport Placard and scan the placard with your smart phone to get credit on the FlyAZ passport program app for being there.
Check with the APA Getaway Flights program and online calendar for fun weekend places to fly.