The flying weather is great
and I hope everyone has been able to
take advantage of it and go to one
of the fly in breakfasts or fly off
to your favorite airport restaurant
for the proverbial “$100” hamburger
lunch.
The
Phoenix TRACON has issued a Letter
To Airmen, included at the end
of this report, outlining
recommendations to minimize flight
conflicts between transiting general
aviation aircraft and air carrier
aircraft operating out of Williams
Gateway Airport (IWA). These
recommendations had been coordinated
with several of the flight schools
operating in the area and after an
initial test period, appeared to
provide the desired level of safety.
After a trial period of several
months, the FAA and the working
committee will re examine the issue
to verify that the recommendations
contained in the letter are
adequately addressing the problem of
flight conflicts between air carrier
and general aviation aircraft.
Hopefully, regulatory changes will
not be needed in the near future.
By now, everyone should
have received their notice in the
mail from the Arizona Department Of
Transportation for their 2012
aircraft registration and have
registered their aircraft. Just a
reminder, you will be getting back a
registration sticker similar in size
to the one that is issued for your
car license plate and we no longer
will be asked to stick these on the
tail of the airplane. They can be
placed in a visible location when
the canopy, door or hatch is opened.
The tag only, could be simply be
placed in with the Aircraft
Airworthiness Certificate which is
supposed to be in a visible
location.
In the way of aircraft
registration, remember, in July of
2010, the FAA published a final rule
that established FAA registration
expiration dates over a three year
period for all civil aircraft
registered before October 1, 2010
and requires re-registration of
those aircraft according to a
specific schedule. Information on
your aircraft and an FAQ and the
complete re-registration schedule
can be found at:
www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/reregistration_faq/
In the way of miscellaneous
notes;
The “Aviation Day At The
Capitol” event, on January 18, 2012,
was a success. The weather was
excellent and the legislative
turnout was good. The event was
intended to gather the state
legislators together informally and
inform them and impress on them the
economic importance of general
aviation and the airports in their
district. Many contacts were made,
and hopefully, the event may have
been successful in impressing on
them, the importance of keeping the
State Aviation Fund intact in order
to maintain our aviation
infrastructure.
APA Director, Fred Gibbs
and his steering committee are
continuing to move forward with the
planning of the General Aviation
Accident Reduction and Mitigation
Symposium (GAARMS). The program is
being planned for March 14 & 15 of
2012 at the Mesa Public Safety
Facility near Falcon field. Be sure
to put the date on your calendar.
Some time around the end of
February, there are numerous airport
construction projects that will be
taking place at Prescott Municipal
Airport (PRC). Be sure to check
NOTAMS before flying in to avoid any
surprises.
Prescott tower is having a
clearance delivery frequency
installed in January and the
frequency is 119.25. There will be a
NOTAM generated when the frequency
becomes usable for ATC. The
clearance delivery will reduce
frequency congestion on the ground
control frequency and allow the
ground controller to focus on the
movement of aircraft and vehicles,
thereby increasing safety and
reducing delays. After getting the
AIS information, be prepared to
contact clearance delivery before
calling for taxi.
Mesa Falcon Field (FFZ) has
the south runway closed for
reconfiguration of the mid-field
taxiway.
Phase I of the project will
include replacement of the present
mid-field taxiway with angled
taxiway exits and installation of
elevated runway guard lights.
Construction may take eight weeks,
started January 9 and should be
completed by March 2, 2012.
Coolidge Municipal Airport
(P08) has an AWOS operating in test
mode at the present time on a
frequency of 119.35 . It is
also available by phone at
520-723-4920. It is functioning
accurately and should be “officially
on line” soon.
Glendale Municipal Airport
(GEU) has a new restaurant, Left
Seat West, operating in the
terminal. Another possible location
to fly in for breakfast or lunch.
We are continuing to work
with airports around the state in
the process of updating their
Airport Master Plans by providing
the general aviation user input in
the planning process.
Since my last report to
you, the NTSB has reported two
aviation accidents in Arizona. One
had serious injuries and the other
did not have injuries reported.
Fortunately, this is an improvement
over the two previous reports that
contained far too many fatalities.
The accident summaries are contained
in my February Accident Report for
your review.
For places to fly for
breakfast on the weekend;
The first Saturday of the
month is the Coolidge Airport Fly In
Breakfast.
The Coolidge event is put
on by a Community Service Group to
raise funds.
