Air Force wants to use Utah Test Range to test drones

[Ron Gleason]

https://www.standard.net/news/military/air-force-looking-to-use-hill-afb-s-west-desert/article_18573491-4564-5224-8841-48853443a22f.html

They are looking to carve out a new, though small, restricted area, R-6401, near the Wendover Airport and adjacent to the existing restricted (RA) airspace R-6406A up to 58K MSL.

When this is implemented it will affect glider flying out of Ely, NV and possibly Nephi and Parowan, UT.

I would encourage everyone that flies in the Great Basin area of Utah and Nevada to read the proposal linked in the article and provide feedback. I will be writing to remind the Air Force that glider activity utilizes the air space around the restricted areas and occasional the restricted areas when permitted via Clover Control as that activity is not mentioned in Section 3.1.2.2 Civil Airspace Use.

Ron Gleason

[[email protected]]

The AF map is on page 1-4 in this.
https://www.hill.af.mil/Portals/58/documents/Environmental/EAWendoverAirspace.pdf

It looks pretty harmless, but it does seem a good idea to be on record agreeing with it so if they ask for something big...

[2G]

On Sunday, September 22, 2019 at 5:06:33 AM UTC-7, wrote:
> The AF map is on page 1-4 in this.
> https://www.hill.af.mil/Portals/58/documents/Environmental/EAWendoverAirspace.pdf
>
> It looks pretty harmless, but it does seem a good idea to be on record agreeing with it so if they ask for something big...

I had a curious incident at Ely this summer. I was heading north up the valley out of Ely at about 15,000 ft when I got a Flarm target 400 ft above me at a range of 4 nm heading south. I watched in the direction indicated as the target got closer both in range and altitude. It passed me at my altitude about 0.5 nm to the east and continued south until Flarm lost it. I never saw the target.

Tom