"Fly Baby, you violated Class B Airspace"
There I was, flying along fat dumb and happy. I punch the mike button: "Auburn
Traffic, Fly Baby 848 turning downwind for touch-and-go."
A voice comes up: "Fly Baby, you violated Class B Airspace!"
It took me a bit aback. My home field is ~2-3 miles away from a ground-level
extension of the Sea-Tac Class B, so one has to be a bit careful. But I've been
flying from this airport for over 20 years; I've been careful.
I key the mike: "I'm only a quarter-mile from the airport!"
"You flew over Redondo!"
Anyone flying over Redondo *would* be in Class B, all right. But that was four
miles away.
And I had just taken off! I had returned to the airport environs about ten
minutes earlier (taking the careful route past the Class B) and had been
shooting touch-and-goes since then.
My guess is the guy saw someone in the distance go over Redondo, then tuned in
to the CTAF at Auburn (S50). Since I was the next guy to call about entering
the downwind, he assumed I had been the plane he'd seen. As I flew downwind, I
noticed a red-and-white Cessna 180/185 go past about 500 feet pass overhead,
flying to the Southeast. That's about the right heading for Redondo to Auburn,
so I figured it was the plane the other guy had spotted.
One interesting aspect: The guy making the accusation never gave his aircraft's
call sign. Wonder if it was the guy *in* the Cessna, trying to find someone
else to take the rap? :-)
Ron Wanttaja
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