Well, spring must definitely be here because the bugs certainly are. As I mentioned last month, when I get back from the Saturday morning breakfast flight, I really have to scrub the airplane down. I don’t know what your present flying experience is like, but perhaps you fly much higher and farther and don’t encounter the pests like I do, but you have to takeoff and land, and that can be a mess.
I don’t know how your airplane is equipped navigation-wise, but my fifteen-year-old experimental is only equipped with a GPS navigation receiver, and it has served me very well both locally and on long cross-country trips. I recently ran across an item discussing the FAAs plan for phasing out VORs, citing the increasing costs for maintaining the network. Apparently, there is a plan to retain a core of 30 VORs at larger airports around the country that are used primarily by Air Carriers. This remaining VOR network is being called the Minimum Operational Network (MON). Something to think about. When the VOR was introduced, the FAA said they were going to be getting rid of all the NDB stations and approaches. Guess what, there are still a few NDB stations left. It seems that only a few years ago there was activity to get rid of them, and some airports did. Apparently, some parts of the world still use NDBs, and so it will be with the VORs.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
FAA
As you know, President Biden’s nominee for FAA Administrator had removed his name for consideration for the position, and the acting administrator would continue in the position as a temporary administrator. Now we get the news that Billy Nolan, the acting administrator, has announced he is resigning. Fortunately, it appears that Nolan will remain in the position only until Biden nominates a new candidate and they are confirmed. Knowing that the government usually moves at the speed of a glacier, we can only hope the process can be sped up a bit in this case, so we can have an FAA Administrator to deal with the many issues at hand.
For those pilots that fly with a glass panel, be aware that the FAA has released an Information for Operators (InFO) notice warning of the dangers of inhibiting the terrain avoidance and warning systems (TAWS) and the aural alerts. While these warning alerts can become a nuisance or a distraction to pilots when flying at altitudes below the alerting threshold of the system, inhibiting the warning systems and ignoring the warnings, combined with deteriorating weather conditions, can lead to a loss of situational awareness which has been found to be the cause of some CFIT (controlled flight into terrain) accidents.
The FAA was mandated to issue a report to Congress on three years of data from the BasicMed program and advise how the program was working. According to the FAA’s report, “No difference was found in the risk of BasicMed and third-class medical airmen having an aviation accident.” The FAA’s report to Congress confirms what we have known for years, BasicMed works and BasicMed pilots are just as safe as third-class medical pilots.
AIRSPACE
Once again, I’m not aware of any airspace changes or FAA regulation changes, or proposals for changes that would impact your flying activities. Let’s just hope this status quo will continue.
SAFETY
The number of pilot deviations that were recorded in the past reporting period have gone up drastically, and again I have no explanation as to why. I wish pilots would just listen more carefully to ATC instructions and then adhere to them. If you can’t comply, tell them why immediately. When flying in controlled airspace, pilots shouldn’t get creative. Instead, tell ATC first before you do something that differs from the instructions given. Always be aware of what type of airspace you are flying in, or what you may be about to enter, and always know what will be expected of you. Always fly with care and forethought, and don’t commit a deviation.
In summary, the general aviation deviations this reporting period are:
| 8 IFR Deviations | 5 Brashers |
| 8 Class Delta Airspace Deviation | 2 Brashers |
| 1 ATC Instructions | No Brasher |
| 8 Runway Incursions | 1 Brasher |
| 2 Surface Incidents | No Brashers |
| 1 Movement Area | No Brasher |
| 2 Wrong Surface Landing | No Brashers |
| 1 NORDO Incident | 1 Brasher |
For the details of these deviations see my Pilot Deviations Report located elsewhere in this newsletter.
In the past reporting period general aviation safety was not very good because of the number of aircraft accidents and incidents that were reported. While the accident numbers were high, there is a positive side to the report because none of the accidents resulted in a fatality, and there were no injuries reported.
Fortunately, in this past reporting period, the FAA did not report any Near Mid Air Collisions (NMAC’s).
For the details of these accidents and incidents see my Accident/Incident Summary Report located elsewhere 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, and type, if anyone got hurt, and with as much detail as possible. Thank You.
CONSTRUCTION
It seems like many of the airports around the state are having construction or repair projects underway. Unfortunately, we don’t have any specific details of any one of the projects, but we certainly suggest that you always check for NOTAMS at your destination airport so you don’t have a surprise when you arrive.
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. In the last reporting period, we met with the Payson Airport Master Plan team to review the progress on their Master Plan Update program.
THINGS TO DO - PLACES TO FLY FOR BREAKFAST:
The Coolidge (P08) breakfast has ceased for the summer months.
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.
The Falcon Field Warbirds Squadron has a fly-in breakfast on the third weekend of the month.
Grapevine is open full time, but the third Saturday of each month is a special time for a group camp dinner on Saturday evening. 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. The upgrading of the lunch area has yet to meet inspection requirements. Hopefully, it will get approved soon so a permanent operator can get in operation.
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, and scan the placard with your smart phone 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.