Posts by CalPilots
Instrument Sim Rule Rescinded
(Calpilots Editor’s Note: So it only takes two people to disapprove of the improved Sim Rule and the FAA rescinds it? Yet, it takes the FAA and Department of Transportation over three years to even respond to the Third Class Physical elimination after thousands support it? Ridiculous!)
The FAA is withdrawing a rule that would have allowed greater use of simulators for instrument training because two people thought it was a bad idea. The agency issued a final rule Dec. 3 that allowed up to 20 hours (up from 10) on an approved training device toward an instrument rating. It also got rid of the unusual requirement that students wear a hood while doing instrument training in a simulator (since the outside view in a simulator can be altered to suit the circumstances). The majority of new rules are established under the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) process that gives the public time to comment, usually 90 days, before a rule is enacted. For whatever reason, the FAA issued a direct final rule in this case and when that happens the comment period occurs after the rule is enacted. That’s where this one went sideways.
Can Yuba County Airport fly higher?
When a Boeing 737 jetliner taxied on the runway at Yuba County Airport last month, airport manager Mary Hansen said it was the largest plane she had seen land at the Olivehurst facility.
While the twin-jet, narrow-body airliner is considered only a short-to-medium range aircraft, its presence on the 6,006-foot-long Yuba County runway caused quite a visual stir.
Read MoreNew FAA Safety Briefing Available
The January/February 2015 issue of FAA Safety Briefing looks at all things airspace and air traffic control. Articles highlight important “rules of the sky” and cover the exciting technology changes in our National Airspace System. The issue also profiles the hard–working men and women of ATC who keep us safely separated.
Feature articles in this issue include:
· “The NAS of the Future – Entering a New Era in Safety” (p 8),
· “Proceed with Caution – A Review of Special Use Airspace” (p 12),
· “Straight Talk: Featuring ATC – Air Traffic Controllers Mic’d Up (p. 20)
Blue Angels Arrive At NAF El Centro
Will Train For Three Months At NAF El Centro
The Blue Angels arrived over the weekend at their winter base at Naval Air Facility El Centro to begin training for the coming air show season.
The Blues will spend three months honing their show routine in California’s central valley, which has been their winter headquarters for 35 years. They made the four-hour flight from Pensacola, FL to California January 3.
Read MoreFAA – Santa Monica Airport Must Remain Open
FAA Tells Santa Monica It Must Operate Airport Through At Least 2023
City Had Hoped To Repurpose 227 Acres Of Airport Property To Other Uses
The city of Santa Monica, CA has been told in no uncertain terms by the FAA that they cannot close the airport and open up its 227 acres for redevelopment until at least 2023, and likely not ever, according to a communication sent by the agency to city government.
The agency says that the city failed to bring the suit in a timely fashion. “This lawsuit, which involves a recorded real estate instrument signed by the plaintiff over 65 years ago, should be dismissed. To begin, that recordation, and subsequent conduct over half a century, belies any notion that the case was timely brought under the Quiet Title Act,” the FAA wrote in its letter to the city. “That statute allows suits against the United States to resolve disputes about title to real property in which the United States claims any interest (with exceptions not relevant here) only if the plaintiff sues within twelve years of learning of the federal government’s interest. In 1948, plaintiff City of Santa Monica (City) signed a recorded instrument that documented the United States’ interest in the City’s airport (SMO or the Airport Property). Plaintiff’s knowledge in the 1940’s, and in the decades since, of the transaction giving rise to its claim here squarely triggered the QTA’s statute of limitations.
Read MoreHappy New Year
Happy New Year from the California Pilots Association. Wishing that 2015 provides blue skies and tailwinds for you in the coming year…….
Read MoreMinter Field: A nest of eagles
When you fly into Minter Field (KMIT) in Shaftner, Calif., you notice a sprawling, fairly quiet airport situated in the heart of California’s central valley. It is flanked to the east by industry and Highway 99. The other three sides are surrounded by farm lands and orchards. Keep your eyes open for crop […] Read…
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